Standing Police Capacity (SPC):

The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations is currently working to initiate a Standing Police Capacity (SPC) with an initial team of 25 hand-picked officers, chosen for their skills in all aspects of law enforcement to form rapid response teams ideally suited to the immediate demands of 21st century peacekeeping. While separate from the UN Police Division, they will collaborate closely with their divisional colleagues. 

The initiative was called for in December, 2004 by a blue-ribbon panel of experts which pointed out that most peacekeeping situations require policing and other law and order functions, and that the slow deployment of police contingents has marred successive operations.

“The United Nations should have a small corps of senior police officers and managers (50-100 personnel) who could undertake mission assessments and organize the start-up of police components of peace operations, and the General Assembly should authorize this capacity,” the prominent politicians, diplomats and development experts said in their report.

UN Member States responded to this recommendation at the highest level during their World Summit in September 2005, calling for its implementation to deal with the unprecedented demand for UN peacekeepers, and police officers in particular.

Since then, the trend has continued, with an over 60 per cent increase in the past three years alone of UN police deployment, heightening the need for a Standing Police Capacity.

Initial recruitment for the SPC has begun in a careful process involving the selection of officials from among the finest pool of expertise available, with a focus on merit, geographic diversity and gender balance.

Once operational in late 2007, the Standing Police Capacity will have two key roles:

  • To provide immediate start-up capability on the ground for the police components of new UN peace operations, including strategic advice to ensure effectiveness; and
  • To provide rapid support to existing UN operations, including assisting with the training of local police forces to help them build capacity.

The SPC will provide the speedy deployment and flexibility that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has learned through experience is crucial for effective peacebuilding. Made up of permanent teams of officers, it will initially operate from New York but is expected eventually to move to the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy.